The impact of chronic non-specific cough on families, version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The impact of chronic non-specific cough on children and their families.
IRAS ID
210668
Contact name
Gill Waring
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 24 days
Research summary
Cough is a common symptom in children; it has many different causes and can be wrongly diagnosed and inappropriately treated. Cough is a common reason for parents to seek medical attention for their child and indeed children may be reviewed by numerous health professionals and continue to cough without a confirmed diagnosis. Chronic non-specific cough refers to those children who have a persistent dry cough which has no clearly identifiable cause.
There has been little research conducted in the area of chronic non-specific cough and children and indeed no research has been conducted with children themselves living with a chronic non-specific cough.
Therefore, there is a need for a qualitative study to develop a theory to explain how families experience and manage living with a chronic non-specific cough.
In depth interviews will be conducted with 20 families. Parents of children under 16 years old and children aged 6 to 15 years old, with a cough lasting longer than 4 weeks without a confirmed diagnosis, will be invited to participate in a single interview. A topic guide of open ended questions will guide the interviews. The interview will last between 1-2 hours for the parents and 30 minutes to an hour for the children.
Families will be identified by paediatricians or otolaryngologists in children's outpatient departments in the North West of England.
It is important that there is a greater understanding of the impact chronic non-specific cough has on children and their families, this understanding may assist in ensuring appropriate care and support are given to children and families living with a chronic non-specific cough in the future. Furthermore, the knowledge gained from the study may help to shape the organisation and delivery of services to children in the future.REC name
West of Scotland REC 3
REC reference
16/WS/0213
Date of REC Opinion
7 Oct 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion